Cheesy "Pizza" Broccoli

I didn't want to serve the same ol' steamed, or stir-fried broccoli, then I remembered a recipe similar to this one, by Daphe Oz (Dr. Oz's daughter), from her lifestyle/cooking book "Relish"
Click image to learn more about the book. It's a perfect choice for college students, young singles and newlyweds. I'm none of those and I like it too. :)

Daphne's version is even more simple than the one I devised (no roasted tomatoes/garlic/red onions or mozzarella in her version)  but this one is a lot more flavorful, in my opinion.

By now, if you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I love cooking intuitively ~ that is with a basic recipe in my head, and then letting the creative juices flow!  This is another one of those, and you can adjust it to suit your own taste.



Easy and flavorful, here's what you'll need for the basic recipe:
Cherry or Roma Tomatoes Salt, Freshly ground black pepper Olive oil (or oil of your choice)
Dried oregano leaves 1 or 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced Red pepper flakes Half an onion, slivered Fresh Broccoli Spears Grated Mozzarella Cheese Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
Optional: Lemon wedges Fresh oregano or basil leaves (Extras ~ see below)
Method:
Place rack in center of oven, preheat to 400ºF.
Wash and cut in half a couple of handfuls of cherry tomatoes, or as many as you want to make a single layer~  (you can use quartered Roma tomatoes or a similar variety;  tomatoes that are not too juicy work best in this recipe.) In a shallow baking dish toss them with some olive oil, sea salt and  a little freshly ground black pepper.
Place pan in oven and roast tomatoes for 10 to 12 minutes (make take longer, depending upon your oven and the baking dish you are using.) Scatter 1 or 2 sliced garlic cloves, half of a slivered onion (white, yellow, red/purple), a couple of generous pinches of dried oregano, and a couple of pinches of  red pepper flakes (optional), give a stir to coat with oil and continue roasting for 10 to 12 minutes ~ it's okay if some tomatoes begin to char.
While tomatoes are roasting, steam broccoli spears until just crisp tender. Remove tomato pan from oven, arrange broccoli over tomatoes, add a little s & p if desired,  sprinkle with grated mozzarella cheese (as much or as little as you like),  sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and place back in oven, or under hot broiler until cheese is melted and begins to bubble.  Remove from oven allow to cool for a moment, sprinkle with a few  fresh oregano or basil leaves. Serve with lemon wedges if desired.



Add any of these optional ingredients if you like: (to be added during second half of roasting tomatoes, or upon serving, as garnish):
sliced or halved flavorful black olives roasted red pepper slivers or pieces marinated mushrooms sliced green onions (scallions) cured anchovy fillets marinated artichoke hearts cooked Italian sausage crumbles, torn prosciutto, etc.   ~ almost anything goes!




Colorful and tasty, it makes a fine main course or a great side dish for simply prepared meat, poultry or fish.
Gluten-Free and Vegetarian friendly, too.

Bon Appétit! And thank you for visiting today!

xo~mari

Caramelized Onion and Jarlsberg Cheese Puff Pastry Squares

Well, it is not a Pissaladière, not exactly a Quiche, I would say it's more of a savory tart.
And very good for a lighter meal (not lighter in calories though!)  It's one of those dishes you can make when the cupboards are practically bare.
If you make it, please note that your proportions of ingredients  will vary, depending upon the dimensions of your pan.  I was going for a rather thin layer of filling, so I chose the shallow tart pan. Here's a brief description of how I put it together:
I placed a sheet of puff pastry in the square tart pan, docked it on the bottom only, and baked blind, until a little over half way done. Then I removed it from the oven and allowed it to cool slightly on a cooling rack.
Meanwhile, I sliced an onion thinly, and caramelized them in a skillet in a little butter and olive oil, cooking slowly so the sugars in the onions turned a beautiful golden brown and the onions were very tender.
Next I "painted" the partially baked crust with a thin layer of Dijon mustard and distributed the onions evenly over the  mustard coated crust, then sprinkled a few fresh thyme leaves,  and a couple of grinds of freshly ground black pepper over.   I added a generous amount of grated Jarlsberg cheese (from Norway), or a Swiss-type cheese over the onions and thyme.
To make the custard, I whisked a couple of eggs with a little half & half  (you can use cream or whole milk)  and carefully poured it over the cheese until it almost reached the top edge of the partially baked pastry crust. The filling will puff up while it bakes, so it's better to  under-fill than over-fill.


I baked it off in a 350ºF preheated oven (center rack) until the cheese was melted and beginning to brown, and the custard filling was just set.
Allow to cool slightly, then cut with a sharp knife, serve up and enjoy while still warm.


Served with a salad of greens and a good vinaigrette, it makes a fine, simple little meal and is budget friendly, too. You can also cut into smaller portions to serve as appetizers.

~*~*~*~*~

Thanks for coming by today friends, please leave me a comment if you have a mind to ~ I really enjoy reading what you have to share.



I'm linking to Foodie Friday. (click)
Happy Thursday, everybody! 
xo~mari

Homemade Mexican Red Chili Sauce

If you make enchiladas, tamales, or any  Mexican or Tex-Mex style dish that requires red chili sauce, I urge you to bypass the canned stuff and make your own sauce from scratch.
It goes together very quickly, with just a couple of ingredients  and is far tastier than canned, plus you can adjust the level of heat according the the chilies you use.
(Most well stocked grocery stores carry dried peppers in the Mexican food/ingredient  section.)
The method is much easier than you might imagine:
- Simply rinse the peppers, remove the seeds and stems (discard.)    - Lightly toast the peppers in a dry skillet to bring out their flavor.
- Remove from skillet and place in a small sauce pot with water, bring to a boil and remove from heat.  Allow to soak for 10 minutes.
- Puree the softened pepper in a blender with some of the soaking water (or plain water if the soaking water seems bitter)
- Add 1 large clove of garlic, 2 whole cloves, 2 pepper corns, 1 or 2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano, and salt.  Continue to blend until sauce is smooth.
- Pour the sauce through a sieve into a skillet, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Stir and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes.  Taste for seasonings.
Use immediately in your favorite recipe or cool and store in a glass container then refrigerate or freeze.





Elise, over at Simply Recipes has a wonderful step-by-step pictorial, with the type of chilies to select as well as the recipe.
Next up,  I'll show you one of my favorite ways of using this Red Chili Sauce.

Thank you for stopping by, and for any comments you would care to share!  Have a wonderful week.

xo ~mari  :o)

Swiss Chard and Parmesan Torte with Press-In Olive Oil Pastry

This is one of my "Go-To Tried and True" recipes ~ it might become one of yours as well.  It's easy to make, budget friendly, healthful and very tasty!

Here's the story ~
A dear friend of mine shared this one several years ago and it's been a favorite ever since. When she told me she discovered it in Patricia Well's cookbook "Trattoria" I was surprised, as I had bought that book when it was first published (1993 by William Morrow & Co.) and had made several of the the wonderful recipes, but somehow missed THIS one! So thank you my friend . . . Ciao, and you know who you are! :)
It is an easy recipe to put together, and I especially like that there is NO need to roll out the pastry ~ it is a press-in olive oil pastry ~ it bakes up almost cracker-like, sturdy and crispy so you can cut the slices thinly and pick the slices up with your fingers as an appetizer with a glass of your favorite beverage if you like.
Patricia explains that tortes similar to this one are a popular Mediterranean snack and can be found at pastry and snack shops in many parts of Italy, and some versions contain pine nuts and raisins.  I haven't tried either of those additions, but maybe next time. 

(Swiss Chard, I love it! But it you don't, you can use fresh spinach instead.)

Another wonderful thing about this recipe; it can be prepared ahead of time and is traditionally cut into thin slices and served at room temperature ~ (again,  just the perfect nibble with a glass of white wine as an appetizer.)  But I usually serve it warm from the oven for lunch or a light dinner with some sliced tomatoes with a vinaigrette drizzle ~ or some other kind of simple salad.  It certainly does have enough flavor so it tastes great at room temperature (and my friend and I agree, a slice is even tasty right from the fridge the next day.)
Patricia Wells ~ I love her cookbooks!

The steps for assembly:

Pastry ~ 


1 cup all purpose flour, a pinch of sea salt, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil.  That's it!



Put the flour and salt in a bowl and mix in the water.



The mixture will look raggedy ~



Stir in the olive oil ~



The dough will begin to clump together, you can use your hands to help it along, but no need to over mix ~ it's perfectly fine if you can see streaks of olive oil.



Press the dough into a shallow 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom.  I don't have a 10-inch pan so I use an 8-inch instead, (this one is a deep dish, but that doesn't matter.)   And don't worry, the dough does not have to reach all the way up the sides, whichever size pan you use.Set aside.

For the filling:



1 pound Swiss chard, tough stems removed. (I didn't quite have a pound this time ~ not a problem)*, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, 3 large eggs (they don't have to be from your own hens ~ as these are. :D) 1 cup grated Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese ~ do use the real stuff here, and grate your own.  It makes all the difference in the world.
* To prepare the chard, wash and shake off extra moisture, remove tough stems and discard. Tear or cut the chard leaves into pieces and cut into smaller pieces using a food processor fitted with the metal blade; best done in several batches.  Alternately you can just cut the chard leaves with a knife.  I've cut them into medium size pieces, and sometimes smaller pieces, it really doesn't matter.  Just try not to chop them too finely.
Place the chard in a wide frying pan, season with salt and pepper, then wilt over low heat, tossing a couple of times until most of the liquid is evaporated. This only takes about 2 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.




Crack the eggs into a medium size bowl (I just use the same bowl that  I mixed the dough in.)


Whisk until combined.


Add the wilted Swiss Chard and grated Parmigiano to the eggs



And stir to combine thoroughly.



Spoon the chard mixture into the pastry, then bake in a preheated 375˚F oven for about 30 to 45 minutes (the filling should be lightly be lightly browned and firm.)  Remove to a baking rack to cool to room temperature, or serve warm right out of the oven.  If you serve it at room temperature ~ cut it into thin slices (it's firm enough to eat with your fingers.)  When I serve it for lunch or dinner I cut it into larger slices as shown here.
If you try this one (and I hope you will),  I hope you enjoy!



For a printable copy of the recipe head over to my recipe blog by clicking HERE.

Recommended:

Wonderful book and highly rated by those who own it; just a few good pictures, but it is LOADED with wonderful recipes and great introductions and tips from Patricia for each one. You get a lot of great recipes, and tips for your money with this one, not a bunch of "fluff".

Years ago I used to only buy the shiny tinned tart pans from Williams-Sonoma, because they looked so authentic & *French*.  Although they look lovely on display on the French Baker's rack, I quickly tired of the extra care (to prevent rust, staining, etc.) I switched over to non-stick a long time ago, and haven't looked back. Save yourself the headache ~ get the non-stick!

Come see Foodie Friday with Designs by Gollum!

Thanks for stopping by today friends.
Cheers!  ~m.

Greek-Style Potato Salad

Well, even if the weather isn't going to cooperate and play along with the date on the calendar it can't prevent us from enjoying spring and summery food, right?

We've been teased with a few warm days and sunny skies lately ~ but the background of drizzle and a gray cover overhead predominate.  Unusual for us at this time of year, because normally our veggie garden would have been planted by now but the earth is simply too soggy to work.

While we're waiting to plant the veggie beds, a colorful salad brightens meal time and reminds us that summer weather isn't far off, even if spring seems to have passed us by this year.

The bonus is that this is really easy to assemble and you probably have everything you need to make it in your pantry;

new potatoes, artichoke hearts, olives (I used kalamata), feta cheese, capers, red onions, flat leaf parsley and a simple vinaigrette that is whisked together in moments.  

You could also add tuna chunks, hard cooked eggs, or cooked chicken or shrimp to make it a salad meal if you wish.  Make it ahead for fullest flavor, or enjoy it right after putting it together.

Best served "cool" or at room temperature, not right out of the fridge.

 It's one of my favorites!

If you would like a printable copy of the recipe, please click here to go to Once Upon a Plate ~ The Recipes.

Hope you enjoy it!

Potato Frittata with Italian Herb Blend (... a rant and a product review)

Hi friends, I have two things to share with you today:

(An admission, and a product review.)

First, the admission ~

I have a love/hate relationship with grocery shopping!

How about you?

photo credit: google images

I absolutely LOVE having fridge (and pantry) filled with good food, but I HATE the actual process of dealing with the grocery store experience, not to mention having to lug everything into the house and put it all away afterwards. 

To compound the matter, the nearest full-scale grocery store is about 13 miles from home, so there is no such thing as a "quick-run" to the store for me.

  

When I shop for food I SHOP. (I readily admit, sometimes I put off the dreaded task as long as practical.)

And second, the product review:

(and how the two dovetail together)

Recently I was offered the opportunity to sample and review a variety of AriostoHerb Seasonings.

I happily agreed!  Imagine my surprise when, just a short while later, a substantial package arrived from Northern Italy!  From Milan/Milano to be precise. 

Upon opening the package, I thought it was a book (how clever is the packaging?!) 

I can read guess a few words of Italian . . .

"The Book of Herbs"  "contains 3 shaker-jars, and 4 packets/bags"

and "Recipes"

But when I opened the package contained six generously sized containers of a variety of herb blends each for either meats/chicken, vegetables,

fish/seafood, and garlic-chili seasoning for pasta, vegetables or fish.

The specific combinations of each blend is what sets them apart, in my opinion. 

So far we have tried the meat seasoning on roasted chicken thighs ~ and it was a big hit at my house (it was late, and too dark for pictures.)

The seasonings already contain sea salt along with the herbs so all you do is sprinkle it on the chicken (or other meat), and roast or grill, and the food comes out perfectly seasoned.  The other one I have tried is the seasoning for potatoes ~ and I used it in the following recipe as described below.

I've got to tell you, I've been making roasted and sauteed potatoes for years, but yesterday was the first time Mr. OUaP  ever commented on the wonderful aroma coming from the kitchen as I cooked the potatoes. Score! (And they tasted fabulous, too.)

Photo credit:  Ariosto website

So, getting back to the fact that I dislike grocery shopping ~ sometimes I find myself in a pinch as far as what to serve up from what is on hand... 

One of the meals I make when it appears as if there is little to eat in the house is an egg based frittata (essentially a flat, baked omelet.) It's a great way to use up bits of vegetables, some cheese and/or meat (either are optional.) 

 Add a green salad and perhaps serve with toast, garlic bread, or warm rolls and you have a satisfying meal in minutes. It's budget friendly and perfect for times when the pantry and cupboards seem bare. I like the fact that they can be served hot, warm, or at room temperature ~ and a slice is a great snack any time of day or night. 

Frittatas are perfectly portable as well,  sometimes I'll make one to take along on a picnic, when it has cooled I cut and wrap individual portions ~ add some fruit, a baguette, your beverage of choice and you're all set for a nice al fresco treat.

  

You're probably familiar with how to make a frittata ~ but if not, or if you would like to learn how I make mine, you can find a printable version over on my recipe blog

'Once Upon a Plate ~ The Recipes' (click)

This time I had left over (cooked), whole potatoes and my new herb seasoning collection ~ so a Potato Frittata with Italian Herb Blend it was.

 I peeled the potatoes (optional) and sliced them about 1/4-inch thick. For extra flavor and texture I lightly browned them in a skillet with a combination of half olive oil and half butter.  As they were browning, I sprinkled them generously with

 Ariosto Seasoning for Potatoes*.

Alternately you could roast the potatoes; generously drizzle a shallow rimmed baking pan with olive oil and toss the potato slices in the pan to coat, then dot liberally with butter and place in hot oven until as crisp and brown as you like ~ turning once or twice so they brown evenly.  Sprinkle with  the herb blend when they are almost finished roasting. Then I continued on with the usual method for making the frittata. (see link above)

The verdict? We really like the combination of herbs in these products and I look forward to using them frequently, particularly during winter when the herb garden is resting.

* Ariosto seasonings contain:

Herbs, not spices, No preservatives.

Sea Salt, garlic, rosemary, sage, juniper, basil, marjoram, oregano, laurel (bay), coriander and parsley. 

Ariosto is the top herb seasoning in Italy, and has been in existence for over 47 years.


Products are currently available to the following countries:


Austria
Australia
Belgium
Canada
Germany
Guatemala
Holland
Japan
Luxembourg
Portugal
Spain
United Kingdom
USA


  Please go visit the colorful Ariosto website to learn more about the company and their great products, get recipes, etc.


You can also find out how order these products by e-mailing
Ariosto's Sales Manager, Saverio Lo Presti -- a very friendly and personable man.


Mr. Lo Presti's email address can be found by clicking here.

Thank you for stopping by today friends, and thank you for any comments you would like to leave.

Have a great week!

Full disclosure as required by the FCC: As mentioned in the body of this post, I was given the herb set to review. I received no other compensation.